How quickly we seek and embrace age in wine, but not ourselves.
Tertiary is when things get interesting. Deep wrinkles are stories, a life lived.
Here are some notes from recent time travelings.

I hear the 2004 Château de la Maltroye Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru is good the morning after. It went from beefy to the finest puffed corn. Honey, gas, apricots, peach gummy rings. The nose goes on and on. Addicted to the shindig. Cantaloupe. Medium bitter acid and medium body. and on and on…it was beautiful. Uncontestedly Purple Hearted.

Oltrepo Pavese 1979

1979 Barbacarlo Oltrepo Pavese. A rustic field blend from Croatina, Uva Rara, Ughetta, and Barbera. Bloody and brooding. Absolutely fascinating and a shining example of Have & Meyer‘s massive and very special Italian wine list in Brooklyn, NY.

1959 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Chardonnay: Celery salt and hay with yellow apples and vanilla honey. A Jura if I ever did smell one. Acid still so alive!! I would’ve never guessed such age, and felt it still had a few more left in it! This family has been making wine since the 16th century, one of the Jura’s oldest.

Clos de Goisses 1996

1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Brut: From Mareuil-sur-Ay, a nutty nose with green apples and croissants alongside orange blossoms, honey, and lemon curd. The mouth packs a punch of crisp, high acidity and intense flavor concentration while fine, persistent bubbles dance along a creamy lemon mousse. A real WOW for the mouth!

Elvio Cogno 1979

1979 Elvio Cogno Barolo-La Morra: Past its prime but tertiary-friendly. Pink roses, tomato vine, earthy, sweet raspberries, and spiced sour cherries with leather and muddled chocolate. A random same-day purchase because it was cold and we wanted something old. Chambers Street Wines is perfect for making such moments happen.

NYC and wine
The 1985 Ronchi di Cialla Schioppettino got a lot of notes too, but the real beauty here was the 1989 Château de Beaucastel: When I blind beans on the nose, especially green beans, I go to the Pape, and I’m generally correct. This also had a real field-blend vibe that helped get there—such a lovely, complex wine, ranging from fresh cherries and violets, to coagulated blood, smoke, game, leather, tobacco, and on and on. Still a lot of life left here! “It’s only 8:30, my cardiologist would be pleased.”
1985 Château de Beaucastel, just days after: It’s not tit, it’s boob.
Chateau de Beaucastel 85
guilgal cote rotie 2009
2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie: I could have kept my nose here for hours. Mint chocolate, a clean horse stable, tomatoes, perfume, peppered-crusted sausage, tar, roses, nutmeg, cinnamon, cola, and of course, beans. The mouth is solid with ripe tannins and meaty flavors mixed with blueberries.
Ducru Tasting

DuCru-ing. The 1975 went black coffee and strawberries with horse sweat and baking spices. The 2003 was exuberant with blackberry and savory notes, plus a hint of butterscotch. A grassy-type herb thing was also going on with dark chocolate, purple flowers, and tobacco. The mouth was quite fresh and jazzy. The barrel still needs to burn off a little more, so the happy medium would be the late 80s, I’d say.

Avery's Clos du Chateau 1976

1976 Avery’s of Bristol Clos du Chateau: Age versus beauty. A beef stick. Bloody with stable smoke and spice. Lived, yet alive.

And here are some more special babes below that never got my notebook’s full attention because I was over-stimulated or too into the moment.

In a nutshell, EMBRACE THE YEARS!!! 
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Posted by Kendal Montgomery

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